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By Dorothy Andries

-

, who will

be the soloist in Leonard

Bernstein’s “Jeremiah” Sym-

phony at Ravinia on Sunday,

August , “discovered” her

exceptional voice when, in her

senior year, she auditioned

for the high school choir near

her home in Lakewood, WA.

When the choir director heard

her, Bridges was immediately

urged to begin studying pro-

fessionally.

“My family enjoyed music,

all kinds,” Bridges explained

during a telephone interview

with

Ravinia

Magazine in late

June. “My Dad has a beauti-

ful voice, and he sang with

the Sons of under choir at

the Allen A.M.E. Church in

Tacoma. I began taking piano

lessons when I was , but no

one [in the family] was a pro-

fessional.” e new adventure

of voice lessons became a

revelation. “I just loved singing

so much,” she said. Even

though Bridges was captain

of her high school basketball

team and had college sports

scholarships on the horizon,

she audaciously auditioned at

top American conservatories

and music schools.

“When I auditioned for the

Manhattan School of Music,

I sang four songs, one each in

English, Italian, French, and

German,” Bridges recalled,

A mezzo

connecting

with the

moment

Photos by

Todd Rosenberg

RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 19, 2018

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